§ 11-701

(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) “Board” means the Sexual Offender Advisory Board.

(c) “Employment” means an occupation, job, or vocation that is full time or part time for a period exceeding 14 days or for an aggregate period exceeding 30 days during a calendar year, whether financially compensated, volunteered, or for the purpose of government or educational benefit.

(d) (1) “Habitually lives” means any place where a person lives, sleeps, or visits with any regularity, including where a homeless person is stationed during the day or sleeps at night.

(2) “Habitually lives” includes any place where a person visits for longer than 5 hours per visit more than 5 times within a 30–day period.

(e) “Homeless” means having no fixed residence.

(f) “Imprisonment” means incarceration pursuant to a conviction, regardless of the nature of the institution in which the offender serves the sentence.

(g) “Jurisdiction” means a state or a Native American tribe that elects to function as a registration jurisdiction under federal law.

(h) “Local law enforcement unit” means the law enforcement unit in a county that has been designated by resolution of the county governing body as the primary law enforcement unit in the county.

(i) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, “release” means any type of release from the custody of a supervising authority.

(2) “Release” means:

(i) release on parole;

(ii) mandatory supervision release;

(iii) release from a correctional facility with no required period of supervision;

(iv) work release;

(v) placement on home detention; and

(vi) the first instance of entry into the community that is part of a supervising authority’s graduated release program.

(3) “Release” does not include:

(i) an escape; or

(ii) leave that is granted on an emergency basis.

(j) “Sexually violent offense” means:

(1) a violation of § 3–303, § 3–304, § 3–309, or § 3–310 of the Criminal Law Article, or § 3–305, § 3–306, § 3–311, or § 3–312 of the Criminal Law Article as the sections existed before October 1, 2017;

(2) assault with intent to commit rape in the first or second degree or a sexual offense in the first or second degree as prohibited on or before September 30, 1996, under former Article 27, § 12 of the Code; or

(3) a crime committed in another jurisdiction, federal or military court, or foreign country that, if committed in this State, would constitute one of the crimes listed in item (1) or (2) of this subsection.

(k) “Sexually violent predator” means a person who:

(1) is convicted of a sexually violent offense; and

(2) has been determined in accordance with this subtitle to be at risk of committing another sexually violent offense.

(l) “Sex offender” means a person who has been convicted of:

(1) an offense that would require the person to be classified as a tier I sex offender, tier II sex offender, or tier III sex offender;

(2) an offense committed in another state or in a federal, military, or tribal jurisdiction that, if committed in this State, would require the person to be classified as a tier I sex offender, tier II sex offender, or tier III sex offender; or

(3) an offense in a court of Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, or any other foreign country where the United States Department of State has determined in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that an independent judiciary generally or vigorously enforced the right to a fair trial during the year in which the conviction occurred that, if committed in this State, would require the person to be classified as a tier I sex offender, tier II sex offender, or tier III sex offender.

(m) “Student” means an individual who is enrolled in or attends an education institution, including a public or private secondary school, trade or professional school, or an institution of higher education.

(n) “Supervising authority” means an agency or person that is responsible for collecting the information for the initial registration of a sex offender and is:

(1) the Secretary, if the registrant is in the custody of a correctional facility operated by the Department;

(2) the administrator of a local correctional facility, if the registrant, including a participant in a home detention program, is in the custody of the local correctional facility;

(3) the court that granted the probation or suspended sentence, except as provided in item (9) of this subsection, if the registrant is granted probation before judgment, probation after judgment, or a suspended sentence;

(4) the Director of the Patuxent Institution, if the registrant is in the custody of the Patuxent Institution;

(5) the Secretary of Health, if the registrant is in the custody of a facility operated by the Maryland Department of Health;

(6) the court in which the registrant was convicted, if the registrant’s sentence does not include a term of imprisonment or if the sentence is modified to time served;

(7) the Secretary, if the registrant is in the State under terms and conditions of the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision, set forth in Title 6, Subtitle 2 of the Correctional Services Article, or the Interstate Corrections Compact, set forth in Title 8, Subtitle 6 of the Correctional Services Article;

(8) the local law enforcement unit where the sex offender is a resident, is a transient, or habitually lives on moving from another jurisdiction or foreign country that requires registration if the sex offender is not under the supervision, custody, or control of another supervising authority;

(9) the Director of Parole and Probation, if the registrant is under the supervision of the Division of Parole and Probation; or

(10) the Secretary of Juvenile Services, if the registrant was a minor at the time the act was committed for which registration is required.

(o) “Tier I sex offender” means a person who has been convicted of:

(1) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing a violation of § 3–308 of the Criminal Law Article;

(2) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing a violation of § 3–902 or § 11–208 of the Criminal Law Article, if the victim is a minor;

(3) a crime committed in a federal, military, tribal, or other jurisdiction that, if committed in this State, would constitute one of the crimes listed in item (1) or (2) of this subsection;

(4) any of the following federal offenses:

(i) misleading domain names on the Internet under 18 U.S.C. § 2252B;

(ii) misleading words or digital images on the Internet under 18 U.S.C. § 2252C;

(iii) engaging in illicit conduct in foreign places under 18 U.S.C. § 2423(c);

(iv) failure to file a factual statement about an alien individual under 18 U.S.C. § 2424;

(v) transmitting information about a minor to further criminal sexual conduct under 18 U.S.C. § 2425;

(vi) sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion under 18 U.S.C. § 1591; or

(vii) travel with intent to engage in illicit conduct under 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b);

(5) any military offense specified by the Secretary of Defense under Section 115(A)(8)(C)(i) of Public Law 105–119 (codified at 10 U.S.C. § 951 Note) that is similar to those offenses listed in item (4) of this subsection; or

(6) a crime in a court of Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, or any other foreign country where the United States Department of State has determined in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that an independent judiciary generally or vigorously enforced the right to a fair trial during the year in which the conviction occurred that, if the crime were committed in this State, would constitute one of the crimes listed in items (1) through (5) of this subsection.

(p) “Tier II sex offender” means a person who has been convicted of:

(1) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing a violation of § 3–307(a)(4) or (5), § 3–324, § 11–207, or § 11–209 of the Criminal Law Article;

(2) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing a violation of § 3–1102, § 3–1103, § 11–303, § 11–305, § 11–306, or § 11–307 of the Criminal Law Article, if the intended prostitute or victim is a minor;

(3) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing a violation of § 3–314 or § 3–603 of the Criminal Law Article, if the victim is a minor who is at least 14 years old;

(4) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing an offense that would require the person to register as a tier I sex offender after the person was already registered as a tier I sex offender;

(5) a crime that was committed in a federal, military, tribal, or other jurisdiction that, if committed in this State, would constitute one of the crimes listed in items (1) through (3) of this subsection; or

(6) a crime in a court of Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, or any other foreign country where the United States Department of State has determined in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that an independent judiciary generally or vigorously enforced the right to a fair trial during the year in which the conviction occurred that, if the crime were committed in this State, would constitute one of the crimes listed in items (1) through (3) of this subsection.

(q) “Tier III sex offender” means a person who has been convicted of:

(1) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing a violation of:

(i) § 2–201(a)(4)(viii), (x), or (xi) of the Criminal Law Article;

(ii) § 3–303, § 3–304, § 3–307(a)(1) or (2), § 3–309, § 3–310, § 3–311, § 3–312, § 3–315, § 3–323, or § 3–602 of the Criminal Law Article;

(iii) § 3–502 of the Criminal Law Article, if the victim is a minor;

(iv) § 3–502 of the Criminal Law Article, if the victim is an adult, and the person has been ordered by the court to register under this subtitle;

(v) the common law offense of sodomy, as that offense existed before October 1, 2020, or § 3–322 of the Criminal Law Article, as that offense existed before October 1, 2023, if the offense was committed with force or threat of force; or

(vi) § 3–305 or § 3–306 of the Criminal Law Article as the sections existed before October 1, 2017;

(2) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing a violation of § 3–307(a)(3), § 3–314, § 3–503, or § 3–603 of the Criminal Law Article, if the victim is under the age of 14 years;

(3) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing the common law offense of false imprisonment, if the victim is a minor;

(4) conspiring to commit, attempting to commit, or committing an offense that would require the person to register as a tier I or tier II sex offender after the person was already registered as a tier II sex offender;

(5) a crime committed in a federal, military, tribal, or other jurisdiction that, if committed in this State, would constitute one of the crimes listed in items (1) through (3) of this subsection; or

(6) a crime in a court of Canada, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, or any other foreign country where the United States Department of State has determined in its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that an independent judiciary generally or vigorously enforced the right to a fair trial during the year in which the conviction occurred that, if the crime were committed in this State, would constitute one of the crimes listed in items (1) through (3) of this subsection.

(r) “Transient” means a nonresident registrant who enters a county of this State with the intent to be in the State or is in the State for a period exceeding 14 days or for an aggregate period exceeding 30 days during a calendar year for a purpose other than employment or to attend an educational institution.